Pay hike for Maharashtra ministers to buy luxury cars

Maharashtra government has raised upper limit for purchase of official cars for ministers from existing Rs 7 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, a cabinet minister said.

Maharashtra government has raised upper limit for purchase of official cars for ministers from existing Rs 7 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, a cabinet minister said on Thursday.

According to the minister, the Prithviraj Chavan government took the decision after some ministers complained about the existing policy which did not allow them to buy good sturdy cars with adequate safety measures.

Contending that they have to travel to distant corners of the state even during night for official work and lack of safety measures like air bags in their vehicles causes problems, the ministers justified the hike.

As per the present permissible limits, ministers normally use Honda City car, however with the rise in limit they can now purchase SUVs, Scorpio and Tata Indigo.

During the discussion in Wednesday's cabinet meeting, even chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said that due to his height, he finds it difficult to fit into the official Ambassador car.